Dr. Mariana Romanenko from Ukraine has been working at the Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition in the Department of Nutritional Physiology and Human Nutrition since June 2022. Dr. Romanenko is a nutritionist and medical doctor from the Institute of Gerontology at the National Academy of Medicine in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Interaction of metabolic disorders, nutrition and inflammation
In her research project, she will investigate the relationship between circadian rhythms, dietary patterns (Dietary Inflammatory Index, DII; Healthy Eating Index, HEI), metabolic health (including body composition, blood pressure, glucose and lipid metabolism, inflammation) and the faecal gut microbiome (16S rRNA gene sequencing). A particular focus is on the development of predictive models (Random Forest Classification) of metabolically healthy or unhealthy individuals based on the circadian profile with and without the involvement of the gut microbiome.
Research residency for refugee and vulnerable scientists
Dr. Romanenko has been awarded a two-year Philipp Schwartz Fellowship by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation starting on the 1st June 2023. The Philipp Schwartz Initiative fellowship programme enables researchers who are threatened or persecuted in their home countries to continue their work at German universities, scientific and non-university research institutions.
